Dawn

[balto]

Hmmm so perfect--delicious even! I wonder how it'll sound when it begs for mercy?


the winds pick up around the savannah as a lion hides downwind fro a group of zebras.

'Just look at them, so plump, so meaty, so helpless...Oh and what do we have here? A lone gazelle! Oh, what marvelous dinner I shall have!'


I just need the right...moment.

[macam]

Perpendicular to the herd lie a pack of hyenas. They numbered approximately 6 in number. They had been tracking the herds for some time, but had no opening of which to strike. There were too many species around to be able to strike safely and now that number had vastly dwindled. It made for a safer yet less satisfying hunt even if successful. For a clan of roughly 30 members back home, even this was a tough sell.

The large female advanced ahead of the others slowly, taking in the sights and smells of their quarry. Perhaps the gazelle would be the easiest target? It was after all a group of Zebras, the gazelle exempt. Her thoughts silent, her movements soft, she merely gave signal to her companions. She did not need to speak for them to understand and they had hunted together before. Timing was of the essence. They just needed to wait..just a little bit more as they slipped into the earth, hearts beating and furiously anticipating the hunt....

[cheezeegriff]

"What's on the savanna today, Moli?"
Moli looked down at his friend, Figgy, who was lying in a hammock of his own design in the largest tree on the largest hill of the savanna. Figgy was a strange lion because he could build things with his hands out of rope he made from grass and vines. The hammock was no exception. Then again Moli was no ordinary vulture. Not since meeting Figgy, anyway.
"The hyenas are back," he said in his irritatingly scratchy voice. Irritating to him anyway. "There's a lion stalking in from the east, too. Could make for an interesting bit of entertainment."
"A lion!" Figgy sat up, peering over the edge of his hammock, one chubby paw on the largest rope. "Male or female?"
"Male," Moli said. "I said lion, didn't i?"
"Pity." Figgy flopped back down and went back to chewing on a shin bone. "Do your thing, then, eh Moli?"
Moli gave a lopsided grin across his lopsided beak, then swooped down above the herd of zebras. Most of them had their heads down to feed, though a few raised their heads to look at him. They soon whinnied and told the others, and soon he had everyone's attention.
He cleared his throat: "Beware! A lion stalks from the east. At least five hyenas stalk from the west. Beware, beware!"
There was a general thumping of hooves and whinnies of alarm as the zebras heeded Moli's warning and circled in defense. Moli flew over the group of hyenas first, grinning down at them lazily, taking a little pleasure from the look of fury on their faces knowing there was nothing they could do to get him. Then he circled back to the lion and did the same. With the zebras now aware of the location of the lion and the hyenas, Moli's work was done. He flew a little higher into the sky and looked down as the sun rose, waiting to see what would happen.

[macam]

Maslahiya had personally had a mixed history with vultures. Some tended to be helpful with their flying. Others only detrimental in terms of omen. This had certainly been a first time in which one had deliberately warned potential food about her presence. A first instance she intended stop from repeating by any means necessary. Every bird had to come down closer to the earth at some point.

The female was angry, cursing softly at the avian flying overhead and growling in frustration as the time now grew unsafe again to hunt. "Accursed buzzards" she would mutter to herself, "Never knowing a good opportunity when they see one." she continued. The demoralizing effect on the small pack was strong and the effect on the clan at large would likely be more severe. Maslahiya however was not one to give up so easily. Not when the lives of her clan members depended on such.

"The plan is unchanged" She repeated blunty. "We follow the herd, change our position. The time to choose is over. No meat can be spared now. Young or old you will take what you can get when the time comes, but only take what you can carry with you and no more. The clan needs merely to eat, not to gorge." she would add. "We'll deal with our rather loud beaked friend in time." would be her final words as her beckoning was not questioned. Hungry, angry, tired, the pack would continue on. There would be other opportunities, even if the prospect of a shrinking clan was undesirable. Their only hope was to simply wait, lest they risk only finding more dangerous quarry.

[balto]

'Oh look at that; dinner and a show.'the lioness thought to herself.
'oohhh and look at that, hyenas! 'Such easy minds to bend,better go say hello.'

[cheezeegriff]

Moli flew back to the tree, perching in a branch twice as high again as Figgy's hammock. The usually lounging lion was sitting up intently, peering into the distance.
"What's wrong?" Moli said.
"That's definitrly a female." Figgy squirmed, putting both paws on the side of his hammock, perching precariously for a lion of his bulk.
"Last time I called female, you told me it was a male."
"That was just a maneless lion," Figgy said. "Can't you see those curves? The way the hips sway? If that's a male then I'm a giraffe."
"You lions all look the same to me," Moli said, and shrugged. He was particularly good at shrugging, even for a vulture.
They looked on in silence for a while, nothing but the wind through the tree's largely barren branches.
"She's heading to the hyenas," Moli said.
"Really?"Figgy leaned over even further now, positively flirting with gravity. His tufted tail flicked back and forth like an injured bird. He looked up at Moli, big green eyes reflecting the blue of the sky. He had a rather honest face, poor Figgy, and Moli immediately saw the conflict warring in his lion friend's brain. "Do you think I... Should I..."
"If you're debating whether or not to stay here and sleep more or go rescue that lioness, nothing says boyfriend material more than saving a damsel in distress. Particularly to the damsel."
"Right you are," Figgy said with a sigh. "Five hyenas, you said? Five hyenas, two lions."
"One vulture."
"Right again." With that he pulled a knot, and his hammock quickly descended to the ground. "Wish me luck," Figgy's smaller voice said from the ground, and the immense lion bounded off through the grass with all the grace of a hippopotamus. That was another thing that made Figgy rather odd: having never hunted using the traditional lion method a day in his life, he was the most hugely corpulent lion that Moli had ever seen.
"Good luck," Moli said. He waited only a moment before taking off into the sky to better keep an eye on his friend.

[macam]

Maslahiya was neither deaf nor blind. The positioning of a lion downwind to her small pack was still fresh in her mind. While she often detested them for their overt senses of superiority and in her view false claims to royalty or land, she was not above allying with one should the right type of deal happen to be struck. The same could be said for many creatures in her view to be quiet honest. Everything and everyone was a means to an end.

If not, she was sure the lion could serve as an ample replacement for the lost zebra at least to keep the pack going until they could find tastier meals to return to the clan with. While Hyenas were foremost often considered scavengers, Maslahiya personally resented the title. She took pride in the concept of a scavenger in helping to clean up and make use prey that no other animals could. Scavenger however was almost always used in a negative connotation, specifically the implication of poor hunting skills. "Keep an eye out for the buzzard" she would bark softly at one of the other pack members, "I'm expecting company to join us shortly."

"But Matriarch, how can you be so sure?" another would respond. To which, she would merely smirk back and answer, "Call it a hunch. If lions aren't picking fights, then they'll almost always be looking for bragging rights to prove their superiority to other creatures. Especially our kind." she chuckled. "If the lion wants a fight, he can enjoy a death, but I'd hate to waste such an...potential asset so crudely due to a simple case of bad blood." she'd conclude with a gruff scoff, as the vulture earlier had identified a lion downwind and not a lioness.

[balto]

The lioness soon moves closer to the hyenas but isnt hiding, She moves in plain view near the herd and the zebras alerted by her presence start moving away along with the small gazelle. The lioness takes no action and moves in closer to the hyenas

[cheezeegriff]

Milk circled overhead as Figgy made his way down to the hyenas. What started as a lumbering trot quickly deteriorated to a hobbled waddle, shuffling like an injured warthog. From up above he had more of the profile of a European bear than a lion: wider slightly at the rump, fatty flanks rippling as he stepped gingerly through the tall grass. It was always of interest to Moli to see just how other beasts reacted to seeing the fattest lion in existence. Regardless, nobody would say that Figgy was especially fit.
Figgy reached the hyenas at about the same time as the lioness who, to Moli's surprise, was walking very casually, almost as if she was going to join them for dinner. Figgy, however, wasn't so subtle. He approached a small rise just above the hyenas and roared - he could road quite well, actually - then said in a booming voice:
"You are trespassing in the lands of King Figaro, the greatest lion king in the whole of Africa. Return from whence you came, hyenas, and harm ye not this noble lioness, for she is under my protection."
Then Figgy turned his bright green eyes upwards and smiled, as if to ask, how'd I do? Moli did the best he could to nod back and smile enthusiastically, though as soon as Figgy looked away he reached up with his claw and face palmed himself across the eyes as best as he could while flying.

[balto]

'How interesting?' The lioness thought to herself looking at the rotund lion.
'I had these under my control but ill let this pan out; he does look comical. I wonder if he can back up his roar if the hyenas fight him?'

[macam]

Most of the small pack would quiver and back away as Figgy began to roar and speak at them. Maslahiya however, remained unphased and more amused to be honest. Nevertheless it was rude to interrupt someone who was speaking, even if they were arrogant so she'd let him finish his show of bravado.

"I know who's lands these are" she'd reply in a rather blunt manner. "If you seriously believe however that I've traveled so far in merely to harm lions, then you're even more petty than you are round" the hyena said, spitting on the ground nearby in a scoffing tone. He barely looked fit enough to hunt truth be told. "I am Matriarch Maslahiya of the Njia clan. I care not for your king's territorial claims. If he should want his lands secure, then he should defend them as I defend mine." she would add on another blunt remark.

She did take note of Figgy's upwards stare, to see a familiar shape in the sky. An unwelcome one. "Had your friend not interrupted our hunt, we would be happily leaving with our kill. You however no longer have the option of simply commanding any creature. Not everyone can be as lazy as you appear to be with your senseless gorging" came additional remarks in increasingly more uncouth manners. Make no mistake, the Matriarch feared little in the way of other hyenas. Lions to her were certainly more of a challenge, but she would wait to see what his reaction was. The lioness herself seemed rather apathetic to it all. The lion himself looked as if his last fight was ages prior to his current time, assuming he's ever fought before. Maslahiya held her ground nonetheless, eyes cold and full of focus starting back at her would be challenger if he was to proceed.

[cheezeegriff]

It was clear to see who the leader of the hyenas was: the female who stood her ground. Even from up high Figgy obviously beamed when they said they knew who's lands they were. Even Moli was surprised. Nevertheless it didn't look like this would be a simple roar roar run away job, so Moli moved off to go get the support they needed...

Figgy's expression went from delighted, to concerned, to downright cranky. Why'd they have to bring up my weight? They always bring up my weight. Then the jeering started.
"Laugh all you want," he said, then sat on his haunches, his belly overflowing his knees and almost his toes too. He placed one paw on his chest and took on a posture of wounded dignity. "But since beginning my rule here I have killed no animal before its time and have found more success in my methods than any other lion has since The Beginning. Look at you lot. Scrawny and underfed. I could devolve to your methods of petty insults and call you toothpicks, but really you're just hungry. Not because you are bad hunters but because hunting itself is an unreliable method that rewards strength and kills the weak at the best of times, and kills indiscriminately due to luck at others. Why, just the other day I saw a gazelle slip on a wet patch of grass. If not for me it would have been a meal. I know this gazelle. He is anything but weak, but the chase would have been over for him." A gust of wind caught his mane, and he looked behind him and smiled, then sat up straighter as a familiar thumping grew louder. "We do not hunt here." Just as he said it, two rhinoceros arrived with thumping footsteps, one to his right and one to his left. "Instead we protect one another." He continued to speak as the nearby zebra herd filed up behind him, stamping their feet and waving their heads. "All grow old and feeble, some ahead of their time. There is food for all for those with the patience. Here we look after each other until that time comes and when it does, our bodies are given to our friends. So now you know the way of these lands, and you know that what you are doing is wrong here. So say all of us!" There was a general whinnying and braying in approval. "Take your hunts and your teeth back home. They're not welcome here." He rocked forward and stood up. The rhinos lowered their heads, and their horns, ready to charge.

[macam]

(OOC: If too abrasive, or if overstepping my bounds please do call me out on it. I don't want to end up being THAT guy q.q)

Maslahiya would merely be content to sit and listen. After all, the greatest of treasures in life for hunter or hunted was to posses knowledge. At least in a natural state. His speech was certainly impressive, long and drawn out as it was. It was absolutely more than she was expecting out of him to being with, bringing a much growing smile to her face as the other animals of the land joined in.

However impressive it may be, it remained simplistic in some ways than others. He was correct about the many factors about hunting, though it also did confirm to him what she had suspected and more. "Unreliable? Certainly so. Rewards the strong and punishes the weak? My dear lion I do believe you when you say you've not killed for such in your entire life", she'd casually respond as she began to pad around. "A serpent who is not of the constrictor family is narily stronger than its prey. Yet it does not need to be. Hippos, Wildebeasts, and Cape buffalo are both larger and stronger than their hunters, and yet they still fall to them. If Hunting should favor the strong, then why is the strong who are hunted the most? If Strength is the end all be all, then why does a serpent not require much of it?" she'd continue. "You also claim that such actions are indiscriminate and target the weak. Yet if the strongest serve as the guardians of the weak, then what is the use of discriminatory practice to target the weak?" These are not questions she'd actually want answers, just merely proses on her own monologue. "Why also indiscriminate? Can a hunter not make attempts to spare the life of the young or sick? What makes you subscribe to such a simplistic view of the world? You yourself claimed to have saved the life a gazelle and many others more, yet you are a hunter by species even if not by name or association. Or how you judge us for crimes we have yet to commit. Ignoring that we are among the most utilitarian of hunters. We waste not hair, nor hide, nor meat, nor bone when we eat. Yet you deem to judge us as wasteful, scavangers or unreliable."

Finishing her first set, she wasted little time on commencing her second as returned to face him again. "Another contention I have is my simple query." she'd comment taking a look at the growing animal variety around him. "I asked you to defend your lands. Yet you have not even offered a mere verbal defense of them. You've offered a defense of your ethics, self reasoning and reign. Yet your land remains untouched. What is a king who cannot defend his own lands?" came further talk as she paused for a small breath. "It is not that I see you as weak for inspiring such loyalty, but to have simply expected others to stand for what you could not.." she'd end her thoughts there, feeling little pressure in needing to continue.

"Perhaps your strangest action however is the nature of your words against your actions." It was at this point that she'd casually nod towards her small pack, who'd begin to take steps back as she herself remained in place. "You speak of the errors of hunting, how this land is brought together by unity, how these are the laws of the land and presumably how that makes them just. Yet none of this was reflected in your greetings. You threatened us, rather than attempt to converse. Your assumption that we were here to bring harm to the lioness, despite her coming to us...something I'm sure your avian friend must've revealed" she added with a small glare towards the vulture. "You did not explain why we were not welcome, merely command us to leave. You spoke of how all tended to each other and deserved to live a full life to their best, yet sentence me and my kin to death without justification. All grow old and feeble you say...forgetting to add, except hyenas."

It was at this point where she was merely losing interest in conversation, as she doubted there could be much more to speak of before the rhino's simply charged out of sheer impatience. "You call yourself a king as do they but I see the real you. A tyrant. A benevolent dictator for life...but benevolent nonetheless. Something I could respect more even in disagreement if it was self admitted. King however sounds less aggressive, more fair and just to the truth, which I suppose I cannot blame you for." Maslahiya had now simply turned her back to the group and began to trot away, with her clan although still having yet a small amount more to say. "I will do as you say, since it is clear only one of us is truly willing to speak with the other. We may yet see each other sooner than later. Perhaps after my clan shrinks from starvation, sickness and wallows in pain from death in the lands beyond...and you are satisfied with our lot in life." would be her final words. The lion could attempt to address her if he wished but their discussion was done. She felt it was enough attempted manipulation in one sitting and would be fairly overplaying her hand if extended her ethos arguments further.

She would give a passing glance to the lioness who had approached the small pack, offering a mere smirk to her in return. A lioness who willingly approached her pack was definitely not of the ordinary type and perhaps a useful ally at some point.

"Matriarch", one of the hyena bucks would whisper to her once again as they were leaving, "How will the clan eat now?" he'd repeat in a tone of greater distress. Maslahiya of course did not share his worries as such internally, even if she feigned them externally. "The clan eats tonight. Antelope. Because sometimes the best tool in the arsenal of a hunter, is to not hunt for food, but for opportunity." she'd respond in whisper. The buck seemed confused, "What do you mean?" he'd query. "Food is most difficult to catch when attentive. With the king here and with most of the subsequent attention probably falling in this direction, other venues were opened." she'd again answer. "What if the king finds out? He'd be furious! Hunts might also grow more difficult!" he'd beckon again. "My instructions were simple. The clan was to hunt the eldest it could find within reason. We take what we need. No more and no less. Greed destroys all it touches and we are not destroyers. We may be few, but we will respect the circle of life as other creatures do. To the children of the farthest reaches of the kingdom who's parents we may have taken this day, we owe a debt of gratitude we can never hope to truly repay. They shall not be harmed and if need be aided. Such is not only the proper action in our great circle of life, but it is also the smartest. Anyone and everyone of interest is useful, even if not in ways forseen. Now come, our meals await us with haste", came one last set of conversation as the hyenas hastened towards the outlands and away from the kingdom, their extra large hearts adding both speed and endurance as they left the sight of creature after creature and began to plan their next moves.

[cheezeegriff]

(OOC: Macam, you're doing really well. This will be fun!)
Figgy listened patiently at first. After all he could afford to listen. It was the hyenas who were outnumbered now. Their leader spoke quite eloquently for a hyena but of course chose to play the victim, as all hyenas were wont to do. Still the accusation of tyrant didn't sit well with him. He opened his mouth to reply, but she gave no opening to do so.
Then, when she finished she turned around and left! Bad mistake, Figgy thought, as without any indication from him one of the zebras said, “They’re running. Get ‘em!” Then the whole herd took off, nipping at the hyenas tails. The rhinos, a little slower off the mark, looked at one another before charging, but took off nonetheless, following after the zebra herd.
Figgy was left standing alone on the trampled grass, though it wasn't long before Moli landed on Figgy’s shoulder, making him wince with those sharp little claws.
“Dictator,” the bird said. “I wish.”
“I know,” Figgy said, sitting and breathing deeply. “Still, a bunch of very hungry looking hyenas isn't a good thing. They'll be back, and soon.”
“Want me to follow them?”
Figgy thought for a moment. “No. Get the cranes to do that. Go to the elders and ask if anyone is actually willing to avoid needless killing this time and spare a body or two. Tell them they might get a nasty surprise come night time if they don't.”
“Right.” Moli spread his wings to fly into the air, then spotted the lioness standing nearby. “You need any help?”
Figgy grinned. “All the help I can get. But don't worry. I'll handle it.”
“Be careful with her,” Moli said. “You're probably five times her weight.” Then he spread his wings and lifted off into the sky.
Figgy cleared his throat. Always about his weight, he thought. With a grunt he lifted his ponderous rear from the ground, then began trotting down the hill towards the female. Hills weren't his favourite thing either. Going up them was exhausting, and made his knees hurt. Going down made the fat on his stomach roll forward into his forelegs and prevented him from doing anything but a slow waddle. He had a feeling it made his fat rolls behind his forelegs stand out worse too. Nevertheless he reached the bottom with enough dignity in tact to drag himself across the flat – holding his stomach in as best he could so it didn't snag on twigs or grass – then gave his most winning smile and deftly swept up the female’s paw in one of his larger, much chubbier ones.
“Hello, and welcome to my lands. I am Figaro, king here, but please, call me Figgy.” He gave her paw a kiss, holding her gaze the entire time, doing his best to be charming. “I hope your name’s as beautiful as you are, miss…?”

[macam]

Elsewhere away from the pair of lions....

The hyenas could easily enough keep pace away from the angry herds as they retreated back home. They themselves did not have a successful hunt, but the clan itself would have elsewhere. It wasn't an unusually long run, but a bit longer than they were used to before hitting the outskirts of what they called home. A place of ash and thirst and dust, where few green plants grew and even fewer animals called home.

A body or two wouldn't feed a clan of 30 that much she knew. The key here was to simply not overplay her paws. The clan had never eaten more than it's fill before and she was not about to start breaking that tradition now. Her returns would only grow more difficult she sensed, especially with that buzzard flying around the skies. She could perhaps have the clan packs hunt at night when visibility was low and most creatures tended to rest. There was no guarantee of success but in broad daylight their chances seemed slim as it is.

Maybe however, she didn't have to hunt herself or the packs. Perhaps they could have their own eyes? Maybe not in the sky, but any pair could just about be useful. "Where are the nearest migration routes?" she'd bark at the awaiting members of her clan as they began their treks through the dry riverbeds. "To the east Matriarch", one of them would answer. "The path to and from Mbali fields? When do we expect nearby movements and to where?" she'd ask again. With little delay she'd receive an answer, "We expect some small isolated movements within 2 days or less. A few, mostly young will move to this kingdom perhaps. Most however will seek lands to the north." Msslahiya would ponder this new information for a few moments as she weighed her options.

"What's the closest we expect them to get?"
"Within our territory, along the ridge edges"
"I want scouts in that area to monitor their movements. Also watch for movement coming from Figaro's kingdom. Do not tress pass across boudnaries however. His denizens may yet be spared for a little bit."
"i don't understand?"
"We're going to enlist some help. Round up any animal moving through the eastern territory passageways and bring them back to the clan."
"What usage are we looking for, Matriarch?"
"Knowledge of the kingdom, even rumors will do. Anyone with it may leave with their lives, provided they meet certain qualifications."
"The rest?"
"Their sacrifices will be remembered in honor."

[balto]

"My name is kula" as she watches the rotund lion take her paw.She looked at the lion as an easy target in her head.
"What a brave lion to rescue a damsel in distress, you must help all the lions like handsome."

She coos sweetly to him
'She liked playing the damsel in distress but her plan to show her true self was not ready yet. She needed to know everything about this lion'

"You must be successful in your hunting.."she closes in, her breath hot on figgy's fur"maybe you can show me how you hunt?"
She winks and flutters her deep blue eyes towards him

[cheezeegriff]

Figgy couldn't believe his luck. Finally, after waiting for months here was a lioness who genuinely seemed to like him. And she was attractive too. "Heh... Well, as you probably heard we don't do much hunting around here. But please, come dine with me. I insist." He turned, then gestured for her to walk beside him. "So, Kula. Where are you from? What brings you to my little Kingdom?"

[balto]

"I can't tell you where i'm from. Its a secret"She giggles with delight."However, I am here for..other reasons" a sideways glace shows her mischievious side.

She purrs low and loud.
'I've got him where I want him;this poor fool is blind.Now to see how far he'll bend.'

"Do you have a family figgy?You must have many kids with all the lionesses fawning all over you."she says playfully

[cheezeegriff]

"A secret?" Figgy said. He managed to fix his smile but felt it become stiff as a twinge of doubt pierced his enthusiasm. He hardly heard the rest of what Kula said, his mind wrapping around the implications. "Err, yes, huge family," he said by means of reply. "Cubs left right and centre, calling me 'daddy.' Well, not really. Oh... Here we are." They'd walked over a small rise to a wide, shallow dip on the savanna. Instead of green grass this area had been blackened by fire. There were a few trees on the border of the burned area, and animals of all different sorts stood on the perimeter, between the trees. Elephants, zebras, antellope and giraffes. One tree was full of monkeys. The other was full of vultures.
"Hark, the king cometh," screeched a vulture, and all the animals snapped to attention. Figgy held his head up and walked as regally as his bulk would allow. Before him, in the centre of the burned out area, lay three dead zebras, one dead warthog and two gazelles. Figgy walked to the first zebra.
"Molof," he said to the zebra leader at the edge of the circle, "who are these companions?"
"Oland, father of seven children and seventeen grandchildren. Meiri, the eldest of my herd. And Narab, barely an adult, died of colic."
"They will be missed," Figgy said. To the warthog he said, "Shan, your husband. I'm so sorry."
"He would have wanted it this way," Shan said. "Just promise me you'll eat him. Not leave him to... To..." She was glancing sideways at the vultures in the tree.
"I'll eat his heart, where rested his gentle spirit. But allow the vultures the rest, no? They are a part of the circle as we are."
Shan was sniffing so hard Figgy wasn't sure she'd heard him. Nevertheless she said, "his heart... Yes... He would like that very much."
Figgy then turned to the leader of the gazelles. "Bonder. Who are these then?"
"Shen and Asher, caught in the grass fire three days ago. Died of black lung last night," Bonder said stoically.
"They will be remembered. Have their names carved in the tree of life. Tonight I bring a guest. Her name is Kula. If she does not understand our ways I will teach her, and I will teacher her the value of the fallen before us."
With that the animals bowed their heads, and left, all except for two rhinos who had followed them up from the way they'd come. Figgy sighed, then said, "Well, my lady. As you can see eating is a rather solemn event here. Where would you like to start?"

[macam]

The hyenas back home could do little in the immediacy. Only bide their time and make due with what they have, lounging about deep within rocky cavern formations underground.

"Cubs are to be fed first, then the adolescents, then the elders and the adults. So I decree.", Maslahiya would state as he breaths grew a slight bit heavier.

"Matriarch...would it not make greater sense to feed the grown first before the eldest?" queried another smaller buck Hyena as he approached.

"The Eldest provide knowledge. Knowledge of experience. Knowledge of the lands here and most around us. This knowledge is invaluable to the clan. Mistakes repeated are deadly mistakes."

"Yes of course! Forgive me, Matriarch. I did not mean anything by it."

"There is nothing to forgive. Go now and tend to your family. Inform me of any migratory developments. Little or none must make it past to Figaro's lands when crossing our own borders. If the clan is to feast regularly and survive to grow once more. We'll need all the eyes in the kingdom we can get."

"Do you really expect such conformity in them? For them to just not inform the king?"

"Everyone has their price. We'll simply need to figure out what one is willing to lose for failure."

"And the useless are to be sacrificed yes?"

"Single males and females who are otherwise unmated and not carrying or raising young of their own. Parents, expecting or current are not to be harmed."

"They will not share?"

"No, because only those of interest to us will get to leave both with information and their lives. While those otherwise will leave with the bleakest of thoughts or simply not at all. Even a single candidate is worth their weight in meat."

"What if the king should eventually discover our spy..or spies?"

"We'll try again with others. Figaro will not leave his lands for ours, even with his subjects behind him. Divided as we are as a species, even the most petty of hyenas will not stand to lose their only territory. The clans will unite together under threat, and it will be a feast that will echo throughout the African continent. As for our little charlatan(s),they will be either exiled or executed. If exiled, our bargain simply ends. They will have a fair chance to escape and if they can then they have earned their freedom. If Figaro chooses to execute them? Well then things might get a bit more interesting..."

"If he does neither, Matriarch? "

"Then we'll simply have to convince him. Keep a known traitor to the crown and land safe? Have other innocents pay the price for him? Figaro might be willing to accept some accidents, but will the families of his subjects be able to easily wither intensifying hunts? We shall see...We shall see...Now go and leave me be. Do not wake until the groups have started moving."

The buck would bow and see himself out without another word, looking towards the crevices and ridges for any signs of activity, each subsequent hyena giving a shake of the head. The movement had not started yet, but the excitement in the air was perhaps a sign...soon...

[balto]

Kula moved closer to figgy, purring her sugery words to his ears

"May I join you?, I haven't eaten at all today" her eyes tickling his heart as they flutter intently.

[macam]

Elsewhere, beyond the outlands and near the Mbali fields

"You there! Oryx! Get up!" came the angry cries of the leader figure for the Oryx herd, due to cross soon as he stared at the strangely shaped companion seemingly tailing his herd.

The tired Oryx had been resting for some time, but still looked somewhat irate as he was addressed. "I'm not an Oryx!" he'd becry in response. "I'm an Okapi. My name is Kupanuliwa."

"Whatever you are, you better stop lying around. The rains are due soon and those moving to the lands west of here need to move now before the paths become blocked off" the buck would answer back, "So quit your slacking and lets get a move on."

Kupanuliwa would frown once more, agitated rather than purely angry as he was forced to haste again. "I think everyone is rushing to be honest. Something doesn't feel right about any of this."

"I'm sure there's a lot of things you youngsters feel are not right. Now you can either prepare to gather with the rest of us who aren't going to be waiting on the likes of sloths in giraffe bodies or you can stay here with your premonitions." the leader buck would respond again.

"Alright Alright, I get it...please. I'm up, just..lets go meet up" Kupanuliwa would respond, though trying to avoid offending the buck with a tonal response as he began to follow to him to meet up with the soon to be expeditionary herds.

[cheezeegriff]

(OOC: Sorry guys. I wrote this post days ago before I got busy but I don't know where it went. Here it is again).

"Yes, of course," Figgy said to Kula. "Which animal would you like to start on? They've all been offered for us. Well, for me. But I'm allowed to bring a guest."

Just then there was a familiar flap of feathers.
Figgy cleared his throat. "Excuse me for a moment." He wandered away, out of earshot and Moli landed on his shoulder. "Well?"
"The usual reply. Nobody wants their dead relatives to be eaten by scavengers and bottom crawlers," Moli said, cleaning his beak on Figgy's shoulder. "Except for Botan. He gave us two bodies."
"Two!" Figgy said, surprised. Botan was usually one of the more stubborn elders. It made him suspicious. "Any conditions?"
"He said the hyenas needed to eat them from the sinkhole on the border of the pridelands."
"Ah." That made sense. It was a good idea, in fact. That way the hyenas didn't need to enter their lands. "Very good. Take an ear and make our offer. Tell them we'll give them two corpses to stay out of our pridelands for a month. Use your discretion."
Moli nodded, gave a glance at Kula, then spread his wings and flew away as bidded.
Figgy fixed a smile back on his face, then turned said to his female companion, "So, have you decided which looks more appetising? If not I could definitely do with some zebra."

***

Moli did as he was bid - he pecked off one of the ears of the dead buffalo and flew into the outlands. Thankfully the cranes were keeping a good eye on things. He asked one for where he might find the matriarch hyena, and he directed Moli to a cave. "She's likely in there," the crane said.
Moli circled closer, peering into the cave entrance. Hyenas really knew how to look the part of the bad guys, what with their barren homes and pitch black homes. There was no way he was flying inside. Instead he landed on a rock above the cave entrance then waited until a hyena emerged, probably to relieve itself. "Excufe me," he said around the torn-off ear, then dropped it on the hyena's head. It bounced off and landed on the ground before him. "Might I have the ear of your matriarch? Not the literal ear, mind you. I've come to make a deal."

[balto]

Kula's eyes gleam as she licks her maw in figgy's direction
"Whichever one you give me dear."She smiles showing her sharp teeth to figgy.

She moves, exaggerating her hips to show off.
The lioness is about 5 feet away from figgy and closing in.

"Which one will you give me sweetheart?" As she closes the distance.

[cheezeegriff]

"Well, let's start on the first zebra. His name was Oland," Figgy said, walking closer to the zebra but not taking his eyes off Kula. He glanced up at the vultures, eager to take their kill, though they would wait until Figgy had finished. With a practiced jaw he reached down, biting into the softer skin of the stomach and opening it up. Oland smelled great! He was almost salivating in his desire to get started but managed to step back and say, "Please, after you."

[macam]

(OOC: Real life happens! No need to worry.)

"The Matriarch has little patience for your audience. Though we shall seek her counsel on the matter", a pair of bucks would hearken back in speech before returning to the cave once more.
"Matriarch, the buzzard has returned. He claims to bring message of a compromise" they'd explain in lower tones.
"The buzzard? Compromise? Ha! I'd sooner expect more mockery from that one, but I digress. I shall meet him." Maslahiya responded as she stretched out her body and dug her claws against the earth. She herself had not eaten too much recently, though she was no stranger to dealing with hunger strikes here and there.

She'd much rather feast on the bird himself truth be told. It'd however simply be a poor show of diplomacy. Such a savage and uncouth act for a self disciplined leader. She would tolerate him in a messenger position at least. Certainly better it he to send and receive messages than one of her own clan. "If you come as messanger then you have little to fear from me", she'd call towards his pointed direction. "Come here to mock however and my suggestion will instead be that you stay off the ground in the outlands. Period. Speak the King's english and make haste, for my patience for games is thin."

/// elsewhere ///

"Are the herds all ready to move?" Bucked the Oryx elder leader once again.
"Not yet" cried back one of the Zebras, "We're still waiting for the impalas to gather their last batches."
The Oryx breathed a heavy sigh of frustration, "At this rate we might as well simply wait for the giraffes and cancel our migration all together. Tell them to move faster!"

Nearby, Kupanuliwa could only shake his head. All this conflict between the herds was making him nervous. It was spoiling a good meal in otherwise delicious grass. "Still don't see what the big rush is", he'd grumble to himself. "Guess nobody around here ever learned to take it slow and careful....maybe even me too if I'm following", he'd grunt in frustration. "I just hope I'm wrong."

[balto]

"Why, such a gentlelion!No wonder you have all the lionesses falling for you."
Kula steps towards the opening and starts to dig in
"Mhmm delicious, it would be even more if you'll join me" she winks at figgy while eating some more zebra.

[cheezeegriff]

Moli bowed his head solemnly. "Matriarch. It was you out hunting today. In which case I understand the cause of any bad blood between us. It's true I enjoy my job a little too much, but I don't enjoy seeing any creatures starve to death. Even predators such as yourself." That lop-sided grin returned again. "I may mock you on the field when I see victory in my grasp, but know I share my master's respect for life, including your own.
"You have my master painted wrong, though. He's no tyrant. It's not he who chooses who does and does not eat in the pridelands but the elders of each species. Most of them prefer their dead to be eaten by lions. That air of nobility and such. However it was my king who convinced Botan, the eldest buffalo, to spare two bodies for your clan. He has two conditions: One is that you eat them from the old sinkhole beneath the slopes of Moongavi to the north. I can show you where. It's an area sacred to the buffalo. The second is that you hunt not in the pridelands for a period of time. Say, oh, a month or so?" He searched the air for the answer, as if it had come to him on a whim.

***

Figgy smiled, then crouched down beside the lioness, feeling his belly press against the inside of his limbs. Being as wide as he was he found it hard to reach the carcasse without the curve of his stomach pressing against Kula. Embarrassed but unperturbed - for after all, he liked the contact - Figgy tucked in; after all it was food that took away most of his worries. He'd always been a big lion, even before coming here, and it wasn't for anything but the love of eating.
"So," he said, lifting his head away after a time, "You can't tell me where you're from. Can you tell me why you can't tell me where you're from, or why you're here?"

[macam]

The hyena would sit attentive and listen. Her face bland and expressionless as she took in the words and formulated her responses, even amid a lop sided grin she caught the bird making. "Indeed." she'd simply remark. "The herds I presume are not happy about vultures then are they not? After all, we both serve to clean up the waste that so many hunters and predators leave behind. They leave hide, hair, bone, marrow...it's a crime really to waste a creature's body like that. Interesting if they would tolerate one scavenger but not another while still speaking of so called nobility, despite the central role we play in the health of the land, but that is neither here nor there I suppose."

She wouldn't address his kingly comments, having no interest in them personally. His next offer was perhaps the one that gauged a more discernible reaction than most. She'd frown quite visibly as she spoke, "2 bodies? In exchange for a month of peace? 2 bodies could not even feed the clan for a single day." digging her claws into the earth additionally in agitation. "However" she'd begin anew, "I suppose everything starts small and I am feeling rather generous, a rare event in the current situation. So consider your proposal accepted. I will keep the clan from your lands for the next 31 moon rises, despite your pitiful and frankly insulting offer." she'd state bluntly. "I consider diplomacy and conversation more important...for now. Now go and leave me be. Some of us still have clan mates to feed and discussion on how to feed them."

It wasn't at all a concern for her. She wouldn't actually need to enter his lands for a month if all worked well. One month to learn everything she could through the eyes of another? No. It was in fact perfect. She'd lose a day or so through some herd migration maybe, but it wasn't a crucial delay.

[cheezeegriff]

Moli restrained himself from shaking his head. "You find insult in a great many things, Matriarch, even in an olive branch of friendship. And unlike we vultures, you're not being offered marrow and skin but two whole. Adult. Buffaloes. Elder Botan and his herd wait at the sinkhole even now. If you want to improve that number of moons before you're perhaps given more - aside from merely bartering. You should have tried that first - then I suggest you and your most needy follow me now before Botan loses patience and rescinds his offer. Which means he rescinds his offer of ever meeting you on good terms, because there's a bottomless pit by the name of Figaro who won't hesitate to devour them immediately. Buffaloes think that's the way to the afterlife, don't you know?" He grinned again and lifted off, circling a little higher, slightly off to the north to guide them on their way. But still within earshot.